Americans’ Wealth Down for 7th Straight Quarter

Posted on Jun 11, 2009

The latest Federal Reserve report indicates that U.S. household net worth has dropped for the seventh consecutive quarter, to reach $50.4 trillion, as stock market and house values continue to decline. Since the peak, Americans have seen 22 percent of their wealth disappear.

The Wall Street Journal:

The net worth of U.S. households fell by $1.3 trillion in the first quarter, a seventh straight decline that has seen household wealth drop by nearly $14 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.

Household net worth fell at a 9.9% annual rate in the first three months of the year to $50.4 trillion, the lowest in more than four years. Net worth—assets minus liabilities—peaked at $64.4 trillion in the spring of 2007, the Fed said in its quarterly flow of funds report.